Any discussion of prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Point of sale (POS) terminals have been used to process purchase transactions for many years. A POS terminal can be configured as a self-service POS terminal that is operated by a customer or as an assisted POS terminal that is operated by an employee. A POS terminal typically includes a device that reads optical codes such as an imaging scanner. A POS terminal may also use a hybrid optical code scanner that includes both an imaging scanner and a laser scanner.
In a hybrid optical code scanner, the two scanners independently scan or read optical codes presented for scanning. A barcode is an example of one type of optical code that is commonly used to identify items presented for purchase. When a barcode is presented, a laser scanner sweeps a laser beam across the barcode, captures reflected light from the barcode and processes the captured light to extract information from the barcode. An imaging scanner reads a barcode by capturing a complete image of the barcode and then processing the image to extract the information from the barcode.
Optical codes presented to an imaging scanner generally face away from the operator and toward the imaging scanner. Additionally, the optical code is usually attached to an object or the optical code is displayed on a portable electronic device. In these situations, the actual location of the optical code is obscured from the operator by the object or electronic device. This makes the scanning of an optical code by an imaging scanner essentially a blind operation for the operator.
To further complicate the scanning process, the optimal scanning position for an imaging scanner is relatively small and the exact location is not obvious to an operator. The combination of not knowing the optimal location for scanning an optical code and not being able to see the position of the optical code significantly reduce first scan performance which increases the overall time required to scan an optical code. When the operator is a customer, the increased scanning time negatively affects the customer's shopping experience. When the operator is an employee, the increased scan time causes delays in processing a customer's purchase and increases the stress on the operator which lowers the operator's job satisfaction.
Therefore, there is a need for a point of sale terminal with improved imaging scanning that identifies an optimal scanning position for an optical code and aids the operator in placing the optical code in the optimal scanning position.